Villanova holds off diligent Seton Hall

NEW YORK -- Villanova became the first team to win three consecutive Big East Tournaments, beating Seton Hall 74-72 on Saturday night behind seniors Eric Paschall and Phil Booth and key contributions from freshman Saddiq Bey.

Seton Hall star Myles Powell, guarded closely by Booth, missed a three-pointer in the closing seconds that could have won it. Booth was called for traveling as he tried to corral the rebound, however, and the Pirates got one more chance with 0.4 seconds left. Anthony Nelson's long inbounds pass bounced off the backboard and was slapped away by the Wildcats, who got to party on the Madison Square Garden floor yet again.

PACific-12

OREGON 68, WASHINGTON 48

LAS VEGAS -- Payton Pritchard scored 20 points and led Oregon's dominating defense, helping the Ducks beat Washington to become the second team to win four games in four days and take home their fifth Pacific-12 Tournament title.

Oregon clamped down on the Huskies in the second half turning a close game into a 16-point lead. Pritchard led the charge up top with four steals and Kenny Wooten did his damage on the back line, blocking four shots.

AMERICA EAST

VERMONT 66,

MD.-BALTIMORE CO. 49

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Anthony Lamb scored 28 points, and Vermont beat Maryland-Baltimore County, earning an NCAA Tournament bid.

Lamb went 8 for 16 from the field and had nine rebounds, and he led a strong defensive effort from the Catamounts, who held the Retrievers to 34 percent shooting. Stef Smith added 17 points for Vermont and Ben Shungu scored nine.

MID-AMERICAN

NO. 18 BUFFALO 87,

BOWLING GREEN 73

CLEVELAND -- Jeremy Harris scored 31 points, C.J. Massinburg added 17 and No. 18 Buffalo won its fourth Mid-American Conference title in five years -- and further stamped itself as a team to fear in the NCAA Tournament -- by beating Bowling Green.

Bowling Green made three free throws to get within 74-71, but Jayvon Graves hit a three-pointer for the Bulls and Harris soon followed with one that hit the back of the rim and bounced high in the air before dropping through, sending Buffalo's fans into a wild celebration.

MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC

N. CAROLINA CENTRAL 50,

NORFOLK STATE 47

NORFOLK, Va. -- Zacarry Douglas scored all 10 of his points during a 25-6 second-half run and North Carolina Central won its third consecutive MEAC Tournament.

The Eagles (18-15) earned another trip to the NCAA Tournament despite missing nine of their last 10 shots and not scoring for the final 4:03.

MOUNTAIN WEST

UTAH STATE 64,

SAN DIEGO STATE 57

LAS VEGAS -- Sam Merrill scored 24 points, going 11 of 12 from the free throw line and earning tournament MVP honors, as Utah State won its first Mountain West Conference championship with a 64-57 victory over San Diego State.

Utah State (28-6) scored the first 13 points of the second half to pull away after leading 34-32 at halftime.

SWAC

PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 92,

TEXAS SOUTHERN 86

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Gary Blackston and Dennis Jones scored 17 points apiece to lead six Prairie View A&M players in double figures and the Panthers beat Texas Southern in the championship game.

Gerard Andrus had 12 points, Taishaun Johnson and Darius Williams scored 11 apiece and Devonte Patterson added 10 for the top-seeded Panthers (22-12).

BIG SKY

MONTANA 68,

E. WASHINGTON 62

BOISE, Idaho -- Sayeed Pridgett scored 18 points and Montana overcame a 12-point deficit to beat Eastern Washington for its second consecutive Big Sky Tournament title and NCAA bid.

Donaven Dorsey and Michael Oguine each added 12 points for Montana (26-8). The Grizzlies also beat the Eagles (16-18) last year in the final. Jesse Hunt led Eastern Washington with 17 points, and Kim Aiken Jr. had 14.

CONFERENCE USA

OLD DOMINION 62,

WESTERN KENTUCKY 56

FRISCO, Texas -- Xavier Green scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the second half to lead Old Dominion to a victory over Western Kentucky in the Conference USA Tournament championship game.

Western Kentucky tied the game at 47-47 before Old Dominion's B.J. Stith scored to break the tie. Green added another three-pointer for a 54-48 lead and the Hilltoppers didn't move within four points after that.

SOUTHLAND

ABILENE CHRISTIAN 77,

NEW ORLEANS 60

KATY, Texas -- Jaren Lewis had 20 points and 6 rebounds, Jaylen Franklin added 16 points and 6 assists, and Abilene Christian beat New Orleans in the Southland Conference championship game.

Lewis shot 10 of 17 from the field. Hayden Farquhar had 14 points and 8 rebounds, and Joe Pleasant scored 14 points for Abilene Christian (27-6).

WESTERN ATHLETIC

NEW MEXICO STATE 89,

GRAND CANYON 57

LAS VEGAS -- Trevelin Queen scored 27 points and New Mexico State beat Grand Canyon for its third consecutive Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth.

New Mexico State improved to 30-4 with its 19th consecutive victory. Ivan Aurrecoechea scored 16 points and Clayton Henry added 14.

ATLANTIC 10

ST. BONAVENTURE 68,

RHODE ISLAND 51

NEW YORK -- Kyle Lofton scored 23 points to lead St. Bonaventure to a rout of Rhode Island.

Dominick Welch and LaDarien Griffin each added 13 for the Bonnies (18-15). Osun Osunniyi added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Cyril Langevine led the Rams (19-15) with 15 points, and Jeff Downtin finished with 12.

SAINT LOUIS 67, DAVIDSON 44

Tramaine Isabell Jr. had 19 points and eight assists to spark sixth-seeded Saint Louis to a rout of second-seed Davidson.

Jon Axel Gudmundsson, who was named the Atlantic 10's Player of the Year on Tuesday, led the Wildcats (24-9), who hope for a bid to the NIT, with 15 points and Luka Brajkovic added 12.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC

NO. 11 HOUSTON 61,

MEMPHIS 58

MEMPHIS -- Corey Davis Jr. scored 17 points and No. 11 Houston weathered a late rally by Memphis.

Memphis (21-13), which struggled offensively throughout the contest, crafted a 10-1 run to pull within 61-58 with a minute left. On the final Memphis possession, Tyler Harris missed a three-pointer, then he attempted a final one that was blocked by Fabian White as time expired.

NO. 24 CINCINNATI 66,

WICHITA STATE 63

Nysier Brooks scored 13 points and Cane Broome hit the go-ahead layup with 23.5 seconds left to give No. 24 Cincinnati a victory over Wichita State.

Tre Scott had 12 points and 8 rebounds, and Jarron Cumberland, the conference player of the year, was limited to 11 points going 3 of 16 from the field.

BIG TEN

NO. 6 MICHIGAN STATE 67,

NO. 19 WISCONSIN 55

CHICAGO -- Cassius Winston scored 21 points and Kenny Goins keyed Michigan State's fast start, helping the sixth-ranked Spartans beat No. 19 Wisconsin.

Goins, Aaron Henry and Xavier Tillman also led a dominant rebounding effort for Michigan State. Goins finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocked shots, and Henry grabbed a career-high 11 boards to power the Spartans to a 44-30 advantage on the glass.

NO. 10 MICHIGAN 76,

MINNESOTA 49

Isaiah Livers scored a career-high 21 points, and No. 10 Michigan closed in on a record third consecutive tournament championship with a romp over Minnesota.

The third-seeded Wolverines (28-5) took control with a big run in the first half and put the game away in the second. Livers matched a personal best by nailing four three-pointers. Zavier Simpson added 15 points and nine assists.

IVY LEAGUE

HARVARD 66,

PENNSYLVANIA 58

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Bryce Aiken had 19 points as Harvard beat Penn in the tournament semifinals.

Noah Kirkwood had 12 points for Harvard (18-10).

YALE 83, PRINCETON 77

Miye Oni had 23 points as Yale topped Princeton 83-77.

Alex Copeland had 16 points for Yale (21-7). Blake Reynolds added 16 points. Jordan Bruner had 10 points and seven rebounds for the hosts.

Sports on 03/17/2019

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